Thursday, 27 April 2017

Long Tailed Titmice - Aegithalos caudatus

Long Tailed TitmiceAegithalos caudatus

Long Tailed Tit (mice) are amongst our smallest birds. They use
their tails as a counter-balance as they seesaw and flit–tumble from branch to branch. In
winter large family groups come to our gardens announcing their arrival with high-pitched, rolling calls of “si-si-si-si-si" and a distinctive trilled ‘tsirrup’: Once you’ve learnt to recognise their call
you will always know a flock of long-tailed tits are in the vicinity.

When Spring arrives they pair off to build nest coccoons of wool
and moss bound and felted together with spiders webs, lined with feathers and
camouflaged with lichen flakes.Inside a
single female will lay up to 15 eggs.When
broods fail, as often happens, the parents move on to help their brothers and
sisters raise their extended families of nephews and nieces.

photo: Warren Photographic

There was a time when every English village would have had
its own name for these birds.Some traditions referred
to their appearance: Long Toms,Long-tailed Muffins (Worcestershire), Hedge Mumruffins,
Bush Tits, Kitty Long-tails, Fluffits and Juffits, Feather Pokes, Long-tailed Magsor and
Millithrums (Miller’s Thumbs). The other tradition was to describe their nests; Oven Birds, Oven Builders (Lothian) and Bush
Ovens (Norfolk), Barrel or Bottle Tits (Berkshire) and Bum Barrels (Nottingham)

About Me

In the 1970s I attended day classes in sculpture and drawing and realised I was
not very talented. In particular I had very poor conception of space. I
have been serious about improving my drawing for all of my adult life.

I have used unusual methods to overcome my weaknesses. One is to
always draw from moving figures, only rarely do I work from static
models. In the 1970 - 80s I spent many thousands of hours drawing dancers
rehearsing, the results were mostly bad drawings, but they were always moving
forward. This experience has been the bedrock on which I built my drawing technique

Since 1999 I have lived in Pembrokeshire. I still draw my wife, who is a
ballet dancer, when she rehearses. I also draw faces on television for
several hours every night. I love most to draw from life.

The other method to improve my drawing has been to learn about the mind. I read books about
neuroscience and the brain. This knowledge is really helpful to my
drawing, and enabled me to understand what I am trying to do. I am a slow
reader and read books only on this subject. (It is not that I dislike
novels or newspapers, it is that I do not have the time).

In my opinion drawing and Art generally, is about the sharing of spirit.
This concept of sharing is central to art, and central to humanity. My
view is that art is all around us, being done by everyone and can never be
owned. So if you like my drawings you are free to download and use
them. It is also why I do not sell or sign my drawings, because to my way
of thinking this would deface their purpose.